DISCLAIMER IN FIRST CHAPTER. Contains the mention of/spanking of a minor.
NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS
That Saturday, while the girls, Lexi and Kirsten, went to their volleyball practice and Jude hung out at Evan's house as usual, Tim and Abby were excited to finish decorating their nursery for the baby. Gibbs had carefully and skillfully hand crafted a crib, a dresser and even a rocking chair with small engravings of stars and crescent moons along the sides of it. He'd also carved and painted light pink letters to spell out 'Callie' for them to place on the wall above the changing table. Ziva, Gibbs, and Tony had come over to help with all the final room preparations for the soon anticipated McBaby.
Kate had taken the twins with her to run errands, as Tony and Ziva did not want them in the way of the decorating and feared that they would be very bored due to the lack of kid's games and entertainment at the McGee's and they would be busy and unable to keep them properly entertained. Jen had gone to run errands as well during this time, planning to go over later to check up on Abby and to see the room.
After Kate and the twins had returned home from visiting multiple stores, she dropped her bags in the kitchen and turned to them.
"Alright, well now that we got all of that out of the way, how about some lunch and then a nap? I can tell you both are tired," Kate said, taking out some bread, cheese and lunch meats along with fruit.
"Can I have grilled cheese, Aunt Katie?" Liv asked. "Please?" she added quickly.
"Of course you may. What do you want on your sandwich, Charlie?" Kate replied.
Charlie thought for a moment. "Umm...can I have turkey and cheese, please?"
"Coming right up. Give it about 10 minutes," Kate answered with a smile. The twins nodded and left the kitchen. As they walked into the living room, Liv had an idea of how they could be entertained.
"Hey, Char? How about we play a game?" Liv suggested.
"Okay," Charlie replied. "What game?"
Liv thought for a moment. She knew that they weren't allowed to run around, or leave the house at all. "Maybe one of us can hide an object in the room while the other person looks away. Then, that person has to find the object. But, the person who hid the object has to say if the finder person is warm or cold," Liv answered.
"Sure. You start," Charlie shrugged.
The twins took turns hiding random objects around the room such as books, pens, and even a pair of sunglasses.
"Warm, warm, hot, oh gosh you're BOILING!" Charlie laughed. Liv grinned and opened a drawer to find the TV remote that Charlie had hidden.
"Alright, my turn," Charlie told Liv.
Liv picked up a bracelet with pretty little charms all over it and the letter 'K' on one of the charms. "I'm hiding this bracelet."
Charlie put his hands over his eyes. Liv hid the bracelet. "Uncover your eyes now."
Charlie uncovered his eyes and looked around. He approached the coffee table. "Cold..." Liv snickered.
Charlie walked over to the couch. "Lukewarm.."
Charlie lifted up a couch cushion. "Warmer."
"Huh?" Charlie remarked in confusion. There was an envelope addressed to Kate hidden there.
"What are you doing with that?" Liv questioned. Charlie ignored her and held the envelope up.
"I think Aunt Kate forgot to open this or something," Charlie responded.
He went back into the kitchen to give to his aunt. "Hey, Aunt Kate, look what I found."
Kate took the envelope in confusion. She read the address. "Where'd you find this?" she asked.
"We were playing a game and I found it under the couch cushion," Charlie stated.
Kate opened the envelope and pulled out a letter. Liv and Charlie watched as their aunt's facial expression changed from confusion, to disbelief, to anger in 30 seconds flat.
"What's wrong, Aunt Kate?" Liv asked.
"It's a letter from Kit's teacher, Liv," Kate replied distractedly.
"Is she in trouble?"
"We will see, Liv. That is between Kirsten and I," Kate replied softly but firmly.
Charlie shook his head at Liv's nosiness and signed 'Mind your business, dumbass'.
Kate looked at Charlie in amazement. "Wow, Charlie, I didn't know you could sign."
Charlie chuckled nervously. "Uh, yeah. Michael has been teaching me."
"Really? What'd you just say?"
"I said Kit sure is in trouble now," Charlie replied. Kate nodded and returned to the kitchen to place Liv's grilled cheese in a frying pan.
Liv left it alone for now. But it was all too intriguing for her. Unlike Lexi, Kirsten was what Kamryn would call, a 'Goody-Two-Shoes'. Kit NEVER got in trouble. Well, not on her own very often. Usually she was dragged into one of Lexi's schemes. To think that Kirsten had gotten into trouble for something was very interesting to Liv.
Meanwhile, Jen was out doing the weekly grocery shopping. She pushed her cart to the fruit and vegetable section and tore off a plastic bag to put her selections in. Gazing at the fresh peaches on display, she selected four and placed them in the bag.
A man had come beside her, also selecting a few peaches. "These peaches sure look nice and plump!"
"I agree," Jen replied with a smile. "They smell wonderful, as well. My kids love them."
The man stared at Jen for a moment. "Forgive me, but you look familiar. You wouldn't happen to be Lexi Gibbs' mother would you?"
Jen nodded. "Yes, I am. I'm Jennifer," she replied, holding her hand out to shake.
"Mark Hoffman. I'm Lexi's substitute teacher for her English class," he replied, shaking her hand.
"Ah, right. How is she doing?"
"Better now. Her attitude has improved since last week. That apology note that she brought back was quite excellent," Mr. Hoffman stated.
Jen hid her confusion with a polite smile. "Right, right. Since we didn't get to actually talk about the incident, can you tell me exactly what you think was going on with Lexi?"
"Well, last week she had a bit of an attitude problem. I told her multiple times to stay in her seat and to stop chatting away with other students. I realize that this subject may not be her favorite, but her behavior disrupts the students' opportunity to learn. Then, as the note said, she had replied with a very inappropriate outburst and I was forced to give her an after school detention along with that note to bring home for a parent to sign."
Jen's anger began to boil at this information. "And she brought back the signed note with an apology, you say?"
"Yes, that is correct. Very nice touch, I might add," Mr. Hoffman replied.
"What exactly did she say to you?" Jen asked.
"Oh, I thought that you had already read the apology note since you were the one who signed the disciplinary notice," Mr. Hoffman stated.
"I'm not aware that she had written an apology note," Jen answered.
Mr. Hoffman sighed and leaned in to whisper in Jen's ear, telling her the contents of the note.
"Interesting. Well it was nice to talk to you about this, Mr. Hoffman. If anything else happens, here is my card," Jen responded, handing him her card. He took it with a smile and nodded.
When he continued to shop, Jen turned and walked away, her temper rising. "Oh, Alexia Marie, you've really done it now."
~*~NCIS~*~
"Alright ladies. Shag the volleyballs, put them in the cart and take the net down. I'll see you all on Monday at our game. It is a home game, so I expect you all to be here with this net set up properly and you all warming up by 3:30. No goofing off. That means you, Lexi," Coach Blake told the team.
"Come on, Coach. I didn't mean to accidentally kick a ball so high it got stuck between the ceiling boards," Lexi replied, snickering slightly. A few other girls shook their heads and smiled.
"Lexi, I'm serious. Anything else other than your full focus, and you'll be riding the bench. Am I clear?" Coach Blake warned sternly.
"Alright, alright," Lexi replied, raising her hands in surrender.
After the net was taken down and the ball cart was taken to the closet, the girls got ready to leave. Kirsten gazed down at her phone. "My mom's here. Bye, Lex. I'll see you later," Kit said, hugging her cousin tightly.
"Bye, Kit," Lexi replied, hugging her back.
"Lexi, we need to have a talk," Coach Blake called.
"Sure," Lexi answered, setting her bag down. "Am I in trouble?" She asked trying to sound casual.
"Not exactly," Coach Blake stated, taking Lexi's arm and sitting down on the gym bleachers. Lexi sat next to her.
"You have improved so much since the beginning of the season. You're going to do such great things, I just know it," Coach Blake began.
"I feel a 'but' coming..."
"But, your focus hasn't been here lately. Why is that?"
Lexi sighed. "I don't know. I guess I just find it hard to focus at times. I start getting distracted."
"You have to control that, Lexi. Your team needs you. It's good that you love the sport and you have fun with it, but you can't keep monkeying around when I'm trying to teach you all new things," Coach Blake said gently.
"I know, I'm sorry, Coach. I'll try to control it," Lexi promised.
"I'm gonna be hard on you, Lex. You know that. And when softball starts, it'll be the same thing. I may be super young, but I am still in charge. I will insist on the same respect that every coach deserves. I am hard on you because I care about you, and because you're a good player and a great kid," Coach Blake answered.
"Yes, ma'am," Lexi remarked.
"Thanks for making me sound old," Coach Blake joked. "But I need to see some changes in attitude."
"You will, I promise," Lexi stated sincerely.
"Good. Be ready on Monday. It's a hard team we're facing, but you all can do it."
Lexi nodded. "I won't let you down, Coach," she answered.
She took her stuff and went outside to wait for her mom. Jen pulled up shortly after and Lexi set her bag down in the backseat before climbing in the passenger seat.
"Hi, Mom," Lexi greeted cheerfully.
"How was practice?" Jen answered.
"Good. We're playing Greenwich Hall on Monday. They're supposed to be an elite team, but we'll be ready," Lexi replied confidently.
Jen continued to drive, and Lexi turned the radio on to end the tense silence.
"Because you know I'm all about that bass, 'bout that bass, no treble. I'm all about that bass, 'bout that bass, no tr-" Lexi began to sing along when the radio was switched off.
"Um.." Lexi was about to protest, but she could literally feel the anger radiating from her mother, so she shut up.
When they got home, Jen took the key from the ignition and turned to Lexi. "So, you wouldn't believe who I ran into at the grocery store."
Lexi furrowed her brow and shrugged. "Who?"
"Your English substitute, Mr. Hoffman," Jen replied. Lexi internally screamed, but she kept her expression neutral.
"Really? He actually eats the same food that humans eat?" Lexi scoffed. Jen glared at her for a moment before proceeding.
"He had a very interesting story for me," Jen stated calmly. "He said something about your attitude improving after your apology letter. And I thought to myself, 'what apology letter?'. He continued to tell me about your inappropriate outburst and that you were sent home with a letter to be signed by a parent. Which you returned to him signed with my signature."
Lexi whistled. "Wow. That is an interesting story."
"A very interesting story indeed," Jen replied, matching Lexi's sarcasm. "So I just had to ask myself. Would you really be that devious to get into trouble involving speaking with a very naughty mouth, which we discussed recently, forge my signature, and then lie about it?" Jen continued. "And even to write a fake apology letter?"
"You have to admit, that apology letter was gen-"
"That's enough being casual about this, Alexia!" Jen yelled angrily. "You forged my signature and lied to me-"
"Okay I didn't exactly lie-"
"You didn't tell me about any of this going on! That is lying! Forging is lying! A fake apology letter is lying!" Jen snapped. "Not to mention the potty mouth!"
"Well, I'm sorry, okay? I guess I didn't think..."
"You never think about what you're doing, Lexi! That is the problem. And then you just don't know how to control your profane language! Towards a teacher at that!"
Jen sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "You know what, I'm done. I've never been so disappointed in you. Ever. I'm too angry and upset to deal with you. Go wait in your room," Jen sighed.
Lexi opened the door and trudged inside and up to her room. She sat on the floor next to her bed and put her head in her hands. Lexi didn't mean to do all those things to upset her mother. Even her coach was frustrated with her. Maybe Jen was right. Lexi never thought about what she did. Now her mom didn't even want to punish her. She was done. And her dad didn't really punish her much anymore either, since Jude joined their family. So she guessed that he was done with her, too.
That thought made tears stream from her eyes and through her fingers, hitting the wood floor below. TJ, Lexi's German Shepherd whined at seeing her so upset and padded over to her, resting his head on her knees to comfort her. Lexi took her hands away from her face and hugged her dog tightly as he licked the tears from her cheeks and let out a little whimper. Lexi leaned her head back against her bed and sighed. Why did she always screw everything up? And what was going to happen to her? If both of her parents were done with her, and they had Jude, were they going to get rid of her?
~*~NCIS~*~
"Oh, Gibbs! Everything looks amazing!" Abby gushed, running her fingers along the engravings on the crib. "And the pretty wooden letters spelling out the baby's name are just so cute!"
"Heh, and the little rocking chair so McBookWorm can read his novels to little McBaby," Tony snickered. "It's a very nice rocking chair, Boss," Tony said quickly at Gibbs' glare.
"You picked out such a lovely color for the walls, Ziva. And the butterflies go so well with it," Abby complimented, looking at the freshly painted pale yellow walls with little pink butterflies stenciled around the letters. On her own, she thought about stenciling skulls instead, but she knew that Tim would not approve.
"Thank you, Abby," Ziva answered, admiring the walls with her.
"Say, Boss? Have you ever made a paddle before?" Tony asked out of the blue as he was fingering the crib engravings.
Gibbs looked up from where he was setting up the curtain rods. "The boats I make don't need paddles, Dinozzo. I don't make canoes."
"No, no, I know that, Boss. But I don't mean a boat paddle, I mean a paddle to spank naughty children," Tony answered.
"Do you think I need a paddle to get my point across, Dinozzo?" Gibbs asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No, not at all, Boss! McSofty here will need one for little McBrat, though," Tony chuckled.
"Tony Dinozzo, bite your tongue!" Abby remarked with a scowl. "My little baby will be so perfect! She'll never ever need to be spanked. And even if she does, no one will be allowed to spank her!" Abby looked pointedly at Tim.
Gibbs and Tim raised their eyebrows at this. "Is that so, Abs?" Tim replied. Abby smirked and nodded. Ziva and Tony chuckled and shook their heads.
"Well, I'll tell you one thing, Abby. If you want me to babysit your child when she's older, and she does something that warrants a spanking, she will get a spanking. Am I clear?" Gibbs warned.
Abby pouted but nodded. "You don't have to just use spanking, though. There are other punishments you can use like, time-outs, loss of dessert..." Tony suggested.
"No TV or games. Maybe an earlier bedtime," Ziva added.
"Or writing lines when she's old enough. Kind of like what you do, Boss," Tony finished.
"Children need guidance. They need discipline and it does not just mean punishment. They need a way of teaching them to obey rules and lets them know what the rules are, and the consequences for breaking them," Ziva explained.
"That's exactly right, Ziver. I use spanking as a form of discipline because it worked on me as a boy, it worked on Kelly and it works on Jude and Lexi," Gibbs explained. "And well, it's a Marine thing, too, I guess. Even just a single smack can be a bit of a wake-up call to get the child's attention, and show them that you mean business."
Tony winced as he thought of all the head slap wake-up calls that Gibbs had given him over the years.
"But if they deliberately disobey an order or do something serious like being unavailable, lying, stealing, or putting themselves in danger, then I think a spanking is warranted, and I've found it to be very effective."
"And it seems to be effective with my older kids as well," Gibbs added, smirking as his surrogate kids blushed.
"I was spanked as a kid, too. I turned out fine," Tim replied. Ziva and Abby admitted to being spanked as well.
"Same for me. And, of course, I turned out fantastic!" Tony added with a smirk.
"I'm not so sure about that one, Dinozzo. You still don't seem to have learned," Gibbs remarked. "But, Tim, as for the discipline, go with your gut. Do what feels right. And always talk it out first to make sure she knows what she did wrong and why it was wrong. That goes for you three as well," he said, looking at Abby, Ziva and Tony.
"And Dinozzo?" Gibbs said. "About that paddle, it doesn't sound like such a bad idea."
Tony puffed out his chest in pride and grinned at Tim, happy that Gibbs liked his idea. Gibbs smirked.
"Would you like me to engrave 'Anthony' on it, or just 'Tony'?" Tony's grin faltered and his eyes widened. Laughter filled the nursery.
~*~NCIS~*~
When Kate came and got her from practice, Kirsten could immediately tell that something was wrong. She couldn't put her finger on it. Kate was deadly silent and calm, not asking many questions, and when Kit asked how the morning was going, noticing the worn out twins in the backseat, Kate answered in a clipped tone.
Kirsten sighed and wondered what she could have done this time for her mother to be upset with her. The possibility of her mom finding the envelope hadn't crossed her mind.
When they returned to the house, Kate woke the sleeping twins up and led them upstairs to her bedroom, removed their shoes and laid them next to each other on the bed. She quietly left and returned downstairs. She picked up the envelope from the living room, then found Kit in the kitchen heating up leftover pasta. Kate stood by the dinner table with her arms behind her back.
Kirsten turned to see her mother slightly glaring at her and put her plate down. "What?"
Kate revealed the envelope from behind her back and held it up. "Does this look familiar?"
Kirsten's eyes widened. "Umm..."
"It doesn't look familiar to me. Care to explain?"
Kirsten avoided her mother's glance. "Well...what if I told you I've never seen that before in my life?"
"Then you'd be lying. And you'd be punished for that too," Kate responded sternly.
Kirsten sighed. "I'm sorry, okay? I found the envelope in the mailbox and I didn't know what to do with it and then you were coming down the stairs and I panicked! So I shoved it between the couch cushions," she confessed.
"And how do you explain your terrible grade on your science exam?" Kate demanded.
"I may have not studied as much as I should have..."
"Kirsten Isabelle, what have I told you about focusing on your studies?" Kate demanded.
"Well, if you let me drink coffee, maybe I wouldn't fall asleep in class..."
"Excuse me?" Kate growled.
"Nevermind..." Kirsten replied with a huff.
"What could have been more important than studying for your exam?"
"American Horror Story..."
"I'm confused," Kate said. "How can watching one TV show stop you from studying?"
"It was a marathon," Kit explained.
Kate shook her head. "That's it. No TV until you bring that grade up in science. The 47 dropped your final average from a 88 to a 67! In the letter, your teacher told me that he'll let you write a paper covering the material on the exam, as he is confused as to why you'd suddenly fail an exam that he was so sure you'd pass, since you are such an excellent student."
Kirsten sighed. "But, Mom..."
"And you will not be going to your game on Monday."
Kirsten's eyes widened. "No! Not that! Come on, Mom, can't you just spank me instead?"
Kate shook her head. "Nope. I don't think that'll won't work this time. If I spank you, your bottom will sting for a while, but the lesson won't stick with you like no TV and missing your game."
"I can't miss my game, Mom! I promise that I'll do a good job on my paper. Can't I please still play in my game? I'll let down the whole team if I don't!" Kit whined.
"Maybe you should have thought of that before being so irresponsible! You can explain that to your coach in practice on Tuesday," Kate finished. "Now, after you finish eating, you are going straight upstairs to study. Your paper is due next Friday."
Kirsten groaned and set her plate down on the table. "Please, Mom. If I get a good start on the paper, can I still be able to play in my game on Monday?"
"Not a chance, Kirsten," Kate replied shortly. "That is why I think this is an appropriate punishment. It will give you a bit of time to think, and to realize that your actions don't just affect yourself."
"And no more whining, or else I will add that spanking to your punishment," Kate warned.
Kit sighed defeatedly and began to eat. She didn't even get to finish the episode she had been watching. It would take her forever to catch up!
~*~NCIS~*~
Tony and Ziva picked the twins up from the Todd household shortly after. Tony carried Charlie and Ziva carried Liv downstairs as they sleepily nuzzled on their parents' shoulders.
"How were they?" Ziva inquired.
"Perfect. No problems at all," Kate answered. Ziva's heart soared. She was so pleased to hear this.
"I think they deserve a treat. We would have taken them to Tim and Abby's, but we were all so busy with the decorating, they would have been super bored," Tony explained.
"There were no complaints from them at all. They seemed pretty entertained playing games in the living room. I made them lunch and they were pretty sleepy from all the errands we ran all morning," Kate stated.
"Well, we appreciate it, Kate. We will see you at work on Monday," Ziva remarked with a smile.
"Anytime," Kate answered, returning the smile.
After leaving, the twins woke up and asked for pizza and ice cream for their treat. They found a local pizza place and placed their order.
"So, how was Aunt Kate's?" Ziva inquired.
"It was good," Charlie answered.
"Yeah, only guess what?" Liv replied excitedly. "Aunt Katie found a letter from Kit's teacher, and she got all upset! Only she wouldn't tell why."
"No, I found the letter while we were playing the hidden object game," Charlie interjected, signing 'dummy'.
Ziva looked at her son in amazement. "Wow! Michael has been teaching you how to sign, yes?"
"Yeah, every day," Charlie answered, laughing internally in his head.
"Show us a few words," Tony said.
"Okay," Charlie replied with a smile. "This means, I like to eat pizza," he demonstrated. Instead, he signed the words, 'you are all dumbasses'.
"Very good, Charlie!" Ziva praised.
Charlie beamed proudly as he signed things like 'mother', 'father', 'thank you' and 'please, throwing in the occasional swear word and saying it meant something else.
An elderly deaf couple who sat at the table near them were watching a little boy sign very dirty words to his parents. They were amazed at how the parents seemed so proud. They just couldn't understand parents of today. That boy was just going to become another problem in society with such indulgent parents!
~*~NCIS~*~
Gibbs returned home shortly after, promising Abby and Tim he would be back to hang the curtains and finish the walls later on. When he walked inside of the house, his gut began to churn. It was deadly quiet and there was a tense atmosphere that he could sense immediately.
"Jen?" Gibbs called. Hearing a reply from the kitchen, Gibbs went and followed the voice to see Jen leaning against the counter, a mug of hot tea in her hands.
"Where's Lex?" Gibbs asked, looking around.
"Upstairs in her room. I sent her up there," Jen replied quietly.
"Why?"
Jen sighed and set her mug down. "Sometimes I wonder what goes through her head at times like this! Like, she just does these things without thinking and when she gets caught, she's so snarky and sarcastic-"
"Jen," Gibbs stopped her rant, holding her shoulders gently. "What. Did. She. Do?"
"I ran into her substitute teacher in the grocery store today. He had an interesting story to tell me. Supposedly, Lexi has had an attitude lately, and then she let out a very inappropriate string of words in front of the class. He sent out a disciplinary notice for her to return signed, then she took it, forged my signature and gave it back to him the following day. And, she even wrote a fake, insincere apology letter and gave that to him along with the disciplinary notice to make it seem like I had actually signed it!"
"I'll handle it, Jen."
"Jethro, I don't know what else to do. I'm so angry at her right now, and I do not want to punish her while I'm like this-"
"Jen," Gibbs stopped her again. "I said I'll handle it. You're upset, I can see it. Just go relax for a bit while I take care of it. Then we all need to talk afterwards," he said quietly, planting a kiss to her lips.
"Alright," Jen sighed, taking her mug and going into the living room.
Gibbs made his way up the stairs to Lexi's room, knocked lightly, then opened the door. Lexi sat on the floor, her loyal pup cuddled next to her with his head in her lap.
Lexi looked up at him, momentarily baffled as to why he had come up to her room. "Hi, Dad," Lexi sniffled, wiping her eyes.
Gibbs sighed. "Hey," he remarked, snapping his fingers at TJ. "Go down and join Jen in the living room."
TJ merely wagged his tail and let out a snort of protest. Gibbs glared at the dog slightly and nodded his head in the direction of the living room. TJ got up with a little growl, but obeyed and padded out of the room. Lexi got up from the floor with a sigh and sat on the edge of her bed.
Gibbs closed the door and sat down on the edge of the bed next to Lexi.
Lexi stared at the floor, refusing to say anything for a moment. She didn't understand why he was there. Why did he even come up up to her room, he didn't care about her, she didn't think that he seemed to care about her behavior anymore. Maybe it was because now he has Jen and Jude. This was really bad. Jen was the one who said that Lexi would regret it if she said another swear word again, and now she didn't even care enough to follow through. Jen probably told her dad about her being done, and made him come up here.
"Why are you punishing me instead of Mom?" Lexi asked suddenly, after a few moments of silence. "I forged her signature, not yours."
"Why did you use her signature and not mine?" Gibbs countered.
Lexi shrugged. "It didn't really seem like you cared anymore. I mean, you work, you do stuff with Jude and the team, like helping with the nursery. You don't have time for me anymore."
"Ah geez, Lex. I was letting Jen take the lead with you because she asked me to let her be more involved. It's not usually my style to give up control, so I admit that I haven't been as involved with you as I should," Gibbs answered. "But I love you and I care about you so very much, Lexi," Gibbs finished sincerely.
"I dunno, Dad. Besides, Mom surely doesn't care about me anymore," Lexi chuckled dryly, wiping another tear from her eye.
"Why would you say that, sweetheart?"
"Because in the car, she told me that I never think about what I do, and that she'd never been so disappointed in me, ever. And she said that she was done. I don't blame her. I'd be done with me, too," Lexi sniffled again.
"Hey," Gibbs said, putting his arm around her. "Your mother was very upset. Even now, she still is. We've bungled things a bit, and we both should be parenting you together. I shouldn't have agreed to let Jen act as the main parent. But I assure you, she loves you more than anything, Lexi. And so do I. We all say things that we don't mean out of anger at times. But that doesn't mean they're true."
Lexi nodded and wiped her eyes. "You'd better believe that I care about you, and love you. I'm not going anywhere. And if you think you haven't been getting enough attention from me lately, I'm about to fix that right now. I love both you and Jude, and our crazy family more than anything."
"Even Tony?"
"Yes, even Tony," Gibbs chuckled. He rose from the bed and pulled out Lexi's desk chair to the middle of the room sitting down on it.
"Come here, Lexi."
"Um, that's alright, Dad, I forgive you. I don't think I need any special attention," Lexi stated, getting up from the bed and walking to the door.
"Alexia..."
"Really, Dad. I get it now. You've never stopped loving and caring for me. You don't have to show it by punishing me. We can just let this one go," Lexi chuckled nervously, backing away.
Gibbs just smirked and crooked his finger, beckoning her to him. "Nice try, young lady."
Lexi groaned and went over to Gibbs' right side. He pulled her down and over his knees, then began to sharply swat her. Lexi let out a hiss through her teeth. Man, she totally forgot about how much Gibbs' spankings hurt!
"Ow! Dad, ease up a little! Ah! I think I've learned my lesson!"
"You think?" Gibbs repeated, smacking her harder.
"Ouch! Okay, I have learned my lesson! Dad stop! Remember some of this is your fault for neglecting me! Ow!"
"Why are we here?" Gibbs asked, slowing his swats down slightly.
"Um, I, ow, forged Mom's signature?"
"Was that an answer or a question?" Gibbs demanded, adding another swat to her burning bottom.
"Ouch! An answer!" Lexi yelped.
"What else?"
"I lied, OW! To Mom!"
"To your teacher as well, right?"
Lexi winced. "Ouchh! Yeah, I guess, ow!"
Gibbs stopped and reached over to grab Lexi's hairbrush from her bedside table. "I don't really need this to get my point across, but I never ever want you to feel as if I don't care about you or that you come second in my life in any way. And, think about this the next time you want to be so deceitful and dishonest."
Gibbs firmly planted 10 whacks with the brush that left Lexi sobbing quietly.
"I'm sorry, Dad. I-I get it now, I know you care."
Gibbs let Lexi up and held her close to him. "I have never stopped caring about you, Lexi. Don't you ever think that again," he whispered.
Lexi nodded. "I won't, I promise." Gibbs rubbed her back.
"Everything is alright now, honey. You're forgiven and I love you so much."
"I love you, too, Dad."
"And don't ever doubt my love again. Or else you'll get even more attention," Gibbs warned, tickling her sides playfully. Lexi shrieked.
"Okay! Okay I promise I won't!" Lexi giggled. Gibbs stood up.
"Let's go downstairs and talk with your mom," Gibbs said, putting a hand on her shoulder and guiding her to the door.
"Um, how about no," Lexi mumbled, resisting slightly. "She probably hates me, now. I don't think I could be so lucky to have you both forgive me."
"Lexi," Gibbs sighed, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Yes, your mother was very upset. But it's only because you keep using bad language and felt the need to keep something from her and lie to her. She gave you a chance to stop without punishing you, and you blew it, kiddo. How would you feel if when we walk out this door, after me promising to do better as a father, and I just went back to the way it's been?"
"I...I wouldn't feel very good..." Lexi replied quietly.
"Exactly. If she didn't care, why would she be so upset? She loves you, Lex. Why do you think that when you got sick last week, she missed work to stay with you? She loves you more than anything. She would never ever hate you. And right now, the one thing she wants the most is an apology and a hug."
Lexi sighed. "Okay..."
Gibbs smirked as Lexi hid behind him as they went back downstairs. When they reached the living room, Jen turned her movie off and set her mug down.
"Lexi, come here," Jen called gently, patting the space next to her on the couch.
"Um, no thanks, Mom. I think I'd rather just stand," Lexi answered nervously.
Just as Gibbs did to TJ, he gestured with a tilt of his head for Lexi to comply with her mother's request.
Lexi hesitantly came out from behind Gibbs and sat down next to Jen with a wince. As soon as she sat down, Jen pulled her in for a tight hug. Lexi recovered from her shock and returned the hug, tears wetting Jen's shirt.
"I'm sorry, Mom. You're right. I don't think about my actions. If I were you, I'd be done with me, too," Lexi sniffled.
"Shh, sweetie. Listen," Jen soothed, wiping Lexi's tears from her cheeks. "I was angry, and I said some things that I didn't mean. When I said I was done, I didn't mean I was done with you. I would never ever give up on you or stop caring about you. I should have never said what I did. It was wrong. I was upset with myself because I was doubting my parenting skills, and quite frankly, I just didn't know what to do."
"I don't know," Lexi murmured. "It's probably because you warned me not to swear anymore, and I didn't take it seriously. Then I slipped up by accident because I was mad."
"If you had come to me after it happened, you would have been chastised for the swearing at the teacher. But forging my signature and lying landed you in bigger trouble," Jen told her.
"I know, I was trying to keep it a secret. I didn't want to get spanked or punished at all..."
"And how did that work out for ya?" Gibbs asked.
Lexi shrugged. "I guess I couldn't put off the inevitable."
"Nope. And unfortunately, your punishment is not over," Jen replied.
Lexi sighed. "Alright, Mom," she said, getting up to go over to Jen's right side. "Take it easy, though. Dad just did a number on me."
Jen put her arm out, stopping Lexi with a chuckle. "No, Lexi, that's not what I meant. Sit."
Lexi returned to her seat. Jen's expression got firm. "I meant, as your other punishment, you are going to have to apologize to your teacher and admit to forging my signature."
Lexi's eyes widened. "No! Mom, please!"
"That is part of your punishment, Alexia. You need to own up to what you did and accept the consequences."
"But, what if he gives me a detention? I'll miss the game on Monday!" Lexi protested.
"That is just something you'll have to accept, sweetie," Jen responded gently but firmly.
Lexi looked down at her lap. Now, there was a possibility that she would miss the big game. She'd promised her coach that she would have her full focus and she'd help her team win. Coach Blake was counting on her to be there for her team and help them win. Because of this, she would let her team and her coach down. She didn't even want to face them in practice on Tuesday.
Then, Gibbs told Lexi to return upstairs in her room until they called her back down for supper, that he needed to talk to Jen. He told her that changes for the better were coming, making Lexi grin.
~*~NCIS~*~
I'm sorry for the long gap between updates, but life happens. And, I am trying to improve my writing. I couldn't do it without the help of my beta, CeCe! Me trying to improve my writing also led to the deletion of my first story. It's only temporary, but I will be rewriting that story sometime in the future. It will be better than ever!
-Ally :)
